Reebok Canada is combining fire and ice.
Under the umbrella of Reebok’s new global “Live with fire” positioning – which rolls out globally this month – the Canadian division has launched a multi-faceted marketing campaign featuring three up-and-coming NHL players: John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Maxime Talbot.
The four-week campaign from Montreal agency Exacto is designed to promote the new Reebok Training collection. The new product line spans footwear and apparel and is comprised of between 15-20 SKUs. Michael Rossi, vice-president of brand for Reebok in Toronto, described it as one of the global apparel company’s biggest product launches in recent years.
The bilingual “Live with fire” (“vivre avec intensité”) campaign is built around TV, cinema pre-roll, a dedicated microsite (ReebokTraining.ca) and point-of-purchase activations – both interior and exterior – at partners like Sport Chek, its Quebec counterpart Sports Experts, as well as Reebok’s 20 retail outlets across the country.
The overarching 60-second TV spot debuted on Sunday and will air throughout the week before giving way to a 30-second cutdown and 15-second spots specifically promoting individual footwear and apparel products. The 60-second spot combines footage of the three players working out in Reebok apparel and footwear with on-ice action.
Broadcast outlets include TSN and its French counterpart RDS, along with Sportsnet, CTV and The Score. TV ads will be complemented by digital placements on YouTube and TSN.ca, as well as pre-show ads in Cineplex theatres nationwide.
Carat Canada handled media for the campaign, which is aimed primarily at men 25-35 but capable of reaching ancillary audiences such as younger male athletes competing at a higher level of hockey and female hockey fans. The campaign will air through the spring and be brought back when NHL training camps open in the fall.
Rossi said hockey is a natural fit for the sports apparel brand on two fronts: consumers relate to and respect professional hockey players (“they’re a very visible articulation of fitness and training” he said), while Reebok has numerous consumer touch-points around hockey that range from official supplier of NHL game jerseys to on-ice equipment like sticks and skates.
“There are very few companies that have all of those touchpoints with hockey,” said Rossi.
“Live with fire” replaces Reebok’s previous global positioning, “The sport of fitness has arrived,” which was in place for approximately 12 months. The new positioning is intended to reflect living a life with what the company calls “passion, intent and purpose.”
